Dimorphodon

The disproportionate magnitude of the head ~ Richard Owen

Its strong bite must have been delivered by a quick, simple snap of uppers and lowers together ~ Robert T. Bakker

Dimorphodon was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from Europe during the early Jurassic Period (about 201-191 million years ago). It was named by palaeontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek δι (di) meaning "two", μορφη (morphe) meaning "shape" and οδων (odon) meaning "tooth", referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws – which is comparatively rare among reptiles. The diet of Dimorphodon has been questioned among researchers, with earlier interpretations depicting it as an insectivore or a piscivore. Recent studies have suggested that Dimorphodon likely hunted small vertebrates, though it still would have consumed soft invertebrates like insects.

Quotes

• The first distinguishing feature of Dimorphodon [...] is the disproportionate magnitude of the head—the more strangely disproportionate, as it seems, in an animal of flight.
  • Richard Owen, A History of British Fossil Reptiles, Vol. 1 (1849), p. 479.

• Dimorphodon's sharp teeth jutted directly upward from the lower jaw and directly downward from the upper. Therefore its strong bite must have been delivered by a quick, simple snap of uppers and lowers together.
  • Robert T. Bakker, The Dinosaur Heresies (1986), Chapter 13. Dinosaurs Take to the Air